A Fortuitous Find
by Casa Circe
Summary: ZUTARA WEEK 2012 Day One: Serendipity. A lone traveler stumbles upon a trail that may lead to an unexpected and drastic change in direction. Will he choose to follow the new path?


**ZUTARA WEEK 2012, Day 1: SERENDIPITY**

**A Fortuitous Find**

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Avatar: the Last Airbender **_**belongs to Bryke, but Zutara Week belongs to all Zutarians. And I always write in a context where neither Kataang nor Maiko ever happened.**

**It's my fifth year of Zutara week and though I was late during the actual dates, I did not want a year to go by without my contributing to it. So I decided to post all my entries on the last "special" date for the century – 12-12-12. Better late than never, I hope.**

**NOTE: This is set before "The Blind Bandit" so Toph isn't part of the group yet and Zuko is still wandering the Earth Kingdom alone. A strange take on the prompt but hopefully it still makes some sense. This turned out longer than I expected.**

The Earth Kingdom road stretched out before him, under the sweltering heat of the sun, but the lone traveller did not stop to rest. He still had no idea where he was going but he wanted to keep moving. He urged his ostrich horse forward. Eventually, he would get somewhere.

He was no longer sure of what he ought to do. He had left his uncle several days ago after a bitter disagreement. His first instinct was to continue the search for the Avatar, but lately he had been having his doubts. After all, he was now a fugitive from his own nation while still an enemy in the eyes of the rest of the world. He had no place anywhere and his former purpose seemed like nothing but an empty promise. His heart was heavy, and his shoulders slumped in fatigue and despair. What was there left for him to do? What kind of life was waiting for him now?

As he pondered these grave considerations, his gaze dropped to the ground. The sight of a small trail of blood immediately interrupted his thoughts. He stopped the ostrich horse and dismounted to get a better look. There wasn't much, only a few drops here and there, but there was still clearly a trail, leading to somewhere in the woods. Instinctively, he wanted to follow it but he thought a bit first. What was there to gain by doing so? Might it not just be some wounded animal? Or if it was a person, would it be an enemy? (He did not consider "friend" as an option since he had none to speak of.) Would he simply be getting himself into more trouble by following the trail?

After some internal debate, Zuko's curiosity got the better of him and he decided to see where the trail lead. Somehow, the part of him that wanted to help someone in need overpowered any doubts he had had. Besides, he added to himself, he had nothing better to do for the moment.

So he followed the line of blood until he reached a small clearing in the woods. He looked around carefully and made sure that there weren't any hostile forces around. The trail of blood led to a small figure of a girl lying face down on the ground. He approached her carefully but saw that she was either unconscious or too weak to react to his presence. There was something oddly familiar about her but Zuko could not think of it just yet.

"Hey, are you all right?" he asked hesitantly but the girl made no answer.

He saw that the blood was flowing from a small wound on her arm. He knelt down beside her to get a better look and recognized the wound as one caused by being pierced on a poisonous thorn. By the looks of it, the girl had pierced herself deep, probably from running through the bushes carelessly.

The firebender gently turned the girl around so that he could get a look of her face and to his astonishment he recognized her as the Avatar's companion. He nearly dropped her in surprise but he kept his wits about him enough to avoid doing so. Her eyes were closed but she was still slightly conscious only too weak to move and her breathing was labored. The effects of the poison, however, were spreading and if he didn't act fast, she might soon die.

Zuko was torn. His first instinct was to help her and he knew that this was the right thing to do. Some darker thoughts occurred to him like the fact that she would lead him to the Avatar but, surprisingly, he pushed them aside. He already knew that there was no one else around and that the girl had probably wandered off on her own, away from her companions. He wasn't sure how they would react to finding him there with her. He would surely be blamed for her predicament. He was tempted to just go away and avoid trouble.

"But I can't just leave her here to die," he thought, "it doesn't matter who she is, I must help her."

He heard her wince slightly and then he decided. As carefully as he could, he raised her wounded arm to his mouth and began to suck out the poison and then spit it out. He figured that if he could get as much of the vile liquid out of her system as possible, he could prevent her condition from worsening. After a few attempts at these, when the ground was wet with blood and poison, he tore a bit of his shirt and tried his best to bind the small wound. He noticed that she was breathing a little more normally now and that she no longer looked so pale. He sighed with relief and tried to hold her up carefully. She leaned against him.

He was at a loss at what to do next so he simply cradled her in his arms for a few minutes. His ostrich horse looked at them curiously and he glared at it defensively.

After a few minutes, the girl regained some consciousness and slowly, she opened her eyes.

"What? What happened?" she asked in confusion.

Now, Zuko was truly confused but he dared not drop her since she was still weak and yet he did not know how to explain the situation without feeling too awkward. He was beginning to panic and he dared not move a muscle or say a word.

Meanwhile, Katara was recovering and found herself comfortably in the arms of someone she didn't know. She vaguely remembered being pierced by some thorns and then fainting. Now, she glanced at her bandaged arm and realized that someone had come to her rescue.

"You saved me," she said, finally looking up at the face of her rescuer, "thank you."

He turned away quickly but not before she noticed the distinctive scar on his face. Katara's eyes widened in recognition and surprise.

"Zuko!" she cried out and tried to push away but she was too weak to do so.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, now more confused than ever, "How did you find me? Are you still chasing Aang? What do you want? I don't understand."

The questions came in quick succession, sounding almost incomprehensible at first. But Zuko understood all that she was trying to say and began to put her down, sensing that the mere contact with him was repulsive to her. But she was still unable to support herself and when she attempted to stand, she had to grab onto him for support. He held her up as she still struggled to make sense of the strange situation she was in.

"I just," Zuko replied, in an attempt to explain, "I just found you here. I wasn't looking for you, I wasn't looking for anyone. I just found you."

Katara looked at him carefully and sensed that he was telling her the truth. There was something different about him now. He seemed less proud and angry than he had been. He was not picking a fight and he had not mentioned looking for the Avatar. He just looked…tired and a little bit sad.

"Did you do this?" Katara asked, pointing at her bandaged arm.

He nodded and hastily explained how he dealt with the poison. Katara colored a little at this revelation but she knew it had been necessary so she felt less embarrassed. She also appreciated the fact that he would be willing to do so much for her when she was practically a stranger to him, and what's more, an enemy.

"You can probably finish the job now that you're conscious," Zuko explained, "you have healing powers, after all."

"Yes," Katara answered, "I think I'll manage."

The waterbender relaxed a little after she made sure that this was not some trap. She knew that she had wandered off quite far from where they had decided to make camp and that her brother and Aang were probably looking for her at the moment. And she also knew that if it wasn't for Zuko's timely intervention, she would have been in a worse state.

"You saved me," she repeated, this time with more conviction.

Zuko gave a small shrug.

After a few more awkward moments, Katara felt strong enough to stand and Zuko helped her up.

"Perhaps you should be getting back to your friends now," he told her gravely, "they'll be worried about you."

"Yes," Katara said simply, "you should be getting back to … wherever you're going."

She noticed a hesitant, confused look on his face when she said this.

"I guess so," he said, after a pause. Katara grew curious.

"Where are you going now?" she asked.

He looked at her in surprise, not expecting her curiosity.

"I don't know," he replied honestly, "I'm just on my own now."

"What about capturing the Avatar?" she asked slightly suspiciously.

For a few tense moments, they were silent, both thinking and waiting. The answer to this question would decide whether they parted as enemies or not and both were apprehensive. Katara knew that for all his faults, Zuko never lied about his motivations. Whatever answer he would give now, he would tell her the truth.

For his part, this little incident had thrown his current situation into perspective. She was suspicious of him, naturally, but she had not shunned him. She had not fought him or said anything cruel to him. It was refreshing after being hated and scorned for so long. There was … something pleasant about the whole situation. He no longer wanted to cause her any trouble, for some reason. And with that, he decided.

"It doesn't matter now," he said slowly, "I don't think it will make any difference if I capture the Avatar sine I'm considered a traitor."

"But what about your honor?" Katara asked.

"I honestly don't know anymore," Zuko confessed, "it used to be so clear and simple. But now, I am just completely lost."

Katara looked at him long and carefully, trying to make sure that he was telling her the truth. And something in her said that he was. He truly did look lost, and this time, it was her turn to "find" him.

"Well, then," she said, extending a hand, "why don't you come with me?"

Zuko stared at her incredulously.

"Have you gone crazy?" he asked, "how can you trust me after all I've done?"

"Well, you've certainly done a lot of things," Katara conceded, "but you've also just saved my life, and I owe you for that. So, why don't you come with me?"

"Aren't you afraid I might betray you?" he asked her, still surprised by the offer.

"I'm taking my chances," Katara answered with a smile, "because I think that you're truly a man of honor. If you choose to join me, you will not betray me. If you don't come with me, I'll know which side you're on."

Zuko continued to stare at her in shock and confusion, unable to make sense of what was just happening.

"Besides," Katara said with a twinkle in her eye, "if you try anything, I'm pretty sure I can handle you. I beat you once in the North Pole. I can do it again."

This finally made Zuko smile, a sight that surprised Katara but she did not show it.

"Well?" she repeated her offer.

"All right," Zuko said finally, taking her hand.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Katara felt tempted to say but kept this to herself.

"You're still a bit weak," Zuko said, "so you'd better ride my ostrich horse."

"Thank you," Katara said as he helped her up.

They would make quite an entrance like this. She would have a lot of explaining to do when she rejoined the others. Somehow, she didn't mind this so much.

Zuko still couldn't believe that he was doing this but he also realized that it was too late to back out of it now. He would just have to wait and see how things turned out. He was suddenly reminded of something his uncle always said:

"Destiny is a funny thing."


End file.
